Classes with Mandy Shaw

Classes with Mandy Shaw

Mandy has made things since she was a little girl – – from clothes and bedding for her dolls and teddy bears through to her first patchwork quilt in the early eighties. When Mandy started her family, she focussed on adorning her home and children with homemade crafts of all varieties. Mandy lives in East Sussex with her husband and four children.

The inspiration for Mandy’s quilts comes from a wide variety of sources, She loves old vintage children’s books, vintage china designs, and old fabrics. And she often gets ideas from details of old buildings… parquetry, tiles, drain covers, anything that has been embellished

Mandy’s work includes Redwork, Christmas projects, foundation piecing, applique, jewellery, embroidery, recycled bags, pincushions and more!

Mandy’s designs have appeared in numerous magazines including Country living, BBC Homes and Antiques, Today’s Quilter, Homespun, Inspirations, Fabrications, Popular Patchwork and Making…to name but a few. She teaches a wide range of classes in the UK and overseas. She appears regularly on TV and justhands-on.tv! And, she has written many patterns, published several books and creates kits for her inspirational designs.

According to Mandy, “I haven’t much time for sleep; I have too much sewing to do.”

Signature Technique:

Bringing distinctive whimsical design style to traditional techniques such as embellishing with buttons and rik rak.

Top Tips:

- Dressmakers carbon paper is great for transferring designs. If fabric is thick, then use iron-on transfer pencils
- 505 works a treat as basting spray on wadding for small quilts. Spray as lightly as you would for your hair.
- Use cotton abrazo thread for embroidery.
- Don’t use felt pens on silk!

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Classes with Mandy Shaw
  • Meet Mandy Shaw

    Jennie and Mandy enjoy the sunshine, chew over old times, and how Mandy has wandered off the straight and narrow. Also, traditional patchwork with accurate seams points to designing and teaching her patterns. You can notice that they often include many buttons and buttonhole stitch, ric-rac, and ...

  • Ladder Stitch by Mandy Shaw

    Ladder stitch is just one of those simple stitches you will wonder how you ever managed without it. It gives invisible closure to so many projects including Mandy’s lovely vintage pinkeepers.

    Click here to learn more about Mandy Shaw.

  • Make a Bag with Recycled Fabrics with Mandy Shaw

    Recyle your fabrics
    What a great idea and challenge. Use completely recycled products to make this really useful bag. It would seem that the only limitation is your imagination!
    Another great Mandy Shaw design
    Mandy and her students used up bits of tapestry, carpet, furnishing fabric, wool jumper...

  • Quilts on the Farm - Revisited - an Exhibition Organised by Mandy Shaw

    We hope that you find this revisit both enjoyable and inspirational. Mandy continues to inspire others both through workshops locally and now through appearances on Create & Craft. She is also the author of several books and patterns, and if you want to check these out, you can use the quick sear...

  • Workshop Tour with Mandy Shaw

    In this tour we discover a world of antique treasures as well as modern tools. Mandy uses 505 spray and Madeira wool threads. Also, she thinks that DMC cotton perle thread number 815 is the best colour for her redwork.
    Stitch with Love, Stitch at Home and Simply Redwork are available on our websi...

  • Christmas Advent Dollies with Mandy Shaw

    Advent Calendars
    As always, a fun time will be had in this workshop with Mandy, where she shows you how she makes her dollies ‘the American way.’
    Three different dolls and angels, plus the lovely Ruby pajama case and Robin the Teddy Advent calendar
    Mandy also has an advent calendar called ‘Twas ...

  • Make a Button Bracelet with Mandy Shaw

    Button Jewellery
    Mandy loves collecting buttons, as well as using them to decorate quilts and other small projects. She enjoys making simple jewellery.
    In this lovely workshop she shows how to make a simple bracelet with the 4-hole buttons and a little bit of thong thread – great for adults and c...

  • Make a Vintage Pinkeeper with Mandy Shaw

    In this lovely workshop from Mandy she shares with us a great idea for making little pin keepers and she has found a great use for the old, but beautiful embroidery that is often lurking in cupboards.

    Easy to make and you get to learn about ladder stitch and blanket stitch - both stitches that...

  • Make a Cupcake Pincushion with Mandy Shaw

    This pincushion is fun and easy to make. Mandy takes you through all the stages including using the ladder stitch to product invisible joins. She also likes to use recycled plastic pellets for the stabliser. Or, you could use cooked rice or lentils or indeed  crushed walnut shells – they would al...

  • How to Transfer your Redwork Design with Mandy Shaw

    Mandy loves redwork. She loves using it on her quilts.
    In this video, Mandy demonstrates how to transfer designs using dressmaker carbon paper and iron-on transfer pencils if the fabric is too thick.
    Mandy and her students are also inspired by vintage pieces to create their own more modern versio...

  • Festive Bunting with Mandy Shaw

    Bunting for all occasions
    Festive Bunting can be used anywhere in the house to decorate over doors, across mantlepieces, round the tops of curtains, across dressers and even the pets could get involved with their baskets!
    also try using our quick link Bunting for other ideas.

    Click...